Sticta papillata Moncada & Lücking, 2012

Moncada, Bibiana & Lücking, Robert, 2012, Ten new species of Sticta and counting: Colombia as a hot spot for unrecognized diversification in a conspicuous macrolichen genus, Phytotaxa 74 (1), pp. 1-29 : 15-17

Sticta papillata Moncada & Lücking , spec. nov. ( Fig. 6 )

MycoBank #801848

Differing from Sticta dilatata in the shorter stipe and entire apothecial margin.

Holotype: — COLOMBIA Cundinamarca: Mun. Villapinzón, Páramo de Villapinzón ; 3200 m; 1 Oct 2010, Alfonso 3 ( UDBC).

Primary photobiont cyanobacterial ( Nostoc ). Stipe present but indistinct, up to 5 mm long. Thallus palmate to irregular in outline, up to 10 cm diam., moderately branched, with 3–5 branches per 5 cm radius, branching polytomous to anisotomous; lobes laciniate to flabellate, ascending to almost vertical, adjacent to imbricate, involute to weakly canaliculate, their apices rounded, involute, their margins entire to crenate, not thickened; lobe internodes (5–)6–10(–12) mm long, (5–)8–12(–15) mm broad; thallus coriaceous. Upper surface smooth, dark green when fresh, greenish brown in the herbarium, shiny; surface glabrous, without papillae and pruina, but with abundant, irregular, cream-colored maculae; marginal cilia abundant, penicillate to agglutinate, dark brown, up to 1.5 mm long. Vegetative propagules absent. Apothecia principally laminal, dispersed, subpedicellate, with pronounced invagination on lower side, up to 1 mm diam.; disc red-brown, matt; margin entire, cream-colored. Lower surface smooth to uneven, cream-colored to pale brown towards the center; primary tomentum dense but sparse towards the margin, thick, becoming thin towards the margin, spongy, soft, dark brown; secondary tomentum present but sometimes indistinct, arachnoid, pale. Rhizines absent. Cyphellae 1–10 per cm 2 towards the thallus center and 41–60 per cm 2 towards the margin, scattered, rounded, plane to cupuliform, erumpent to sessile, remaining below the level of the primary tomentum, with the margin elevated to weakly involute, white, without tomentum; pore (0.8–)1–1.25(–1.8) mm diam.; basal membrane pubescent, white, K+ pale yellow, C–, KC–, P–. Medulla compact, white, K+ yellow, C–, KC–, P–. No substances detected by TLC.

Upper cortex paraplectenchymatous, 12–35 µm thick, uniform, consisting of 3–5 cell layers with cells 3–10 µm diam., their walls 1.2–2.5 µm thick and their lumina rounded to isodiametric, 1.5–7 µm diam. Photobiont layer 20–70 µm thick, its cells 10–18 µm diam. Medulla 20–70 µm thick, its hyphae 2.5 µm broad, without crystals. Lower cortex paraplectenchymatous, 8–18 µm thick, with 2–3 cell layers; cells 2.5–6.5 µm diam., their walls 0.6–1.2 µm thick. Hairs of lower primary tomentum 120–720 µm long, in fascicles of more than 20, unbranched hyphae, septate with intertwined apices. Hairs of lower secondary tomentum 5–10 µm long, of single, unbranched hyphae, septate with free apices. Cyphellae cavity 80–170 µm deep; cells of the basal membrane with 4–6 papillae.

Distribution and Ecology: —South American Andes ( Colombia); found within a comparatively narrow altitudinal range of 2720–3200 m in (sub-)andine forests of the Cordilleras Occidental and Oriental, in moderately exposed microhabitats; growing on bark of trees and shrubs, associated with liverworts of the genera Radula and Metzgeria and lichens of the genus Leptogium , among others.

Etymology: —Named after the distinct papillae on the cells of the basal membrane of the cyphellae; this was the first species in which we rediscovered this character after Vainio (1890) had initially described it for Sticta laevis (Nyl.) Vain. ( Vainio 1890) .

Remarks: — Sticta papillata belongs in a group of various species with pedunculate, much branched thallus having rather narrow, distinctly ciliate lobes that produce very large and conspicuous cyphellae with more than one papillae per cell on their basal membrane. It is most similar to S. dilatata (Nyl.) Vain. ( Vainio 1913) , but has narrower lobes, entire instead of crenulate apothecial margins, and a less distinct stipe. It should be mentioned here that the name S. dilatata is misapplied in the literature. Zahlbruckner (1925) assumed that Vainio (1913) had based his combination on S. laciniata var. dilatata Nyl. , a taxon described from Colombia and later renamed S. granatensis by Nylander (1874). However, Vainio (1913) based his combination on a very different lichen, S. tomentosa var. dilatata Nyl. , also described from Colombia ( Nylander 1860).

Additional specimens examined (paratypes): — COLOMBIA. Cundinamarca: Mun. Guasca, Vereda La Concepción, basin of the Tunjo ; 3000 m; 20 Jun 1989, Sánchez & Linares 1159 ( COL) . Mun. Guasca, Páramo de Guasca ; 3200 m; 18 Ago 2011, Lücking 33370 (F, UDBC) . Nariño: Mun. Piedrancha, La Planada, San Isidro, south of Ricaurte (road from Pasto to Tumaco ); 1750 m; 2 Jun 1993, Sipman et al. 32871 (B, COL) . Norte de Santander: Mun. Toledo, Parque Nacional Natural Tamá, trail from Quebrada la Pedrera to Paramito ; 2680 m; 10 Sep 2000, Moncada & Dávila 988 ( UDBC) ; ibid., Sector El Paramito; 2720 m; 12 Sep 2000, Moncada & Dávila 1274 ( UDBC) .

Figures

FIGURE 6. Sticta papillata (A, Lücking 33370; B–E, holotype collection). A. Thallus in situ. B. Lower surface. C. Lower surface enlarged showing marginal cilia. D. Microscopic section through cyphella showing basal membrane with papillose cells. E. Microscopic section of differentiated upper cortex. Scale in A and B = 10 mm, in C = 5 mm, in D = 10 µm, in E = 30 µm.